Andrius Kubilius, who could lead the talks for the EU Executive, has been in favor of a rapid enlargement of the bloc to Ukraine and the Balkans.
The European Union must prioritize enlargement in the next five years and, if necessary, allow Ukrainedevastated by war, joins the bloc in stages, as the next European Commissioner of Lithuania has told ‘Euronews’.
In his statements, Andrius KubiliusMEP who was twice Prime Minister of Lithuaniastressed the geopolitical convenience of returning to the philosophy of the early 2000s, when ten new countries joined the bloc at once.
Accession talks with kyiv and Belgrade
Citing his country’s security experience as Russia’s neighbor, Kubilius said it is “looking portfolios related to enlargement or defense“, suggesting that he could be the one to lead accession talks with countries like kyiv and Belgrade.
Comments occur in a key moment in executive training who will govern the EU for the next five years, which will include a senior official from each of the 27 Member States of the block.
Once the list of candidates is known, scheduled for this week, the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyenyou must assign them a political scope.
Von der Leyen has already promised a new position of Defense Commissioner, to strengthen the EU industry in the face of the renewed Russian belligerence.
But, with countries like Ukraine, Moldavia y Serbia waiting to join, could also make enlargement – the process of selecting and admitting new members – a central element of its second term, as climate change policy was in the first, according to Kubilius.
A new flagship
“Enlargement can be… this new flagship project,” he said, citing the need to “influence how the European Union will live for the next 50 years.”
The Baltic states that joined in 2004 have adequate experience, he believes. He was prime minister when Lithuania began its own talks with Brussels in 2000and says the EU needs to return to the open philosophy it had then.
EU enlargement has taken a back seat in recent times; In 2014, the year after Croatia joined, Von der Leyen’s predecessor, Jean-Claude Junckersaid there would be no more new members during his five-year term.
The policy has now received a geopolitical momentum: Brussels, eager to show its political support Following the 2022 Russian invasion, it formally began talks with kyiv in June.
Kubilius suggests that Brussels could be more flexible: in statements to ‘Euronews‘He said that smaller countries could join before Ukraine, and that accession could be gradual.
“There are even some ideas that, First of all, the country must jump to the single marketand then it must go with all the other chapters: the call progressive integration o phased integration. “kyiv has to do all its reforms, and we have to help it in how to carry them out.”
Problems with China
As an MEP, he is in favor of concluding the next enlargement before 2030a deadline that admits ambitious.
There are both economic and geopolitical reasons for doing so, he said, and Lithuania’s recent run-in with another great power shows that the two cannot always be kept apart.
ADVERTISINGIn 2021, China limited imports from Lithuania in a diplomatic dispute over the Taiwan statuswhich Beijing considers part of its territory.
“If you maintain economic relations with a country that is not democratic – it happens to us with Russia, with Belarus -, we must be prepared for any type of event like the one we have seen in our trade with China,” he stated.
The 2021 Chinese embargo led to a case at the World Trade Organization and new EU measures to prevent foreign countries from exercising political coercion through trade policy.
Kubilius, Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2012, has been a strong defender of rights against Russia during his term as an MEP of the European People’s Party.
ADVERTISINGHe has described Russia asState sponsor of terrorism and has requested the confiscation of hundreds of billions on Russian state assets currently parked in Europe.
A surprise election
Until recently he was not considered a possible candidate for Commissioner. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergiswas the favorite candidate, until it was seen that the president Gitanas Nausėdaa political independent, would veto it.
Kubilius explained that he received the call from the prime minister while cycling in northern Estonia, a trip that he had to abruptly interrupt. Although he has his own portfolio preferences, he admits that his government or his party might disagree. The final decision rests with Von der Leyen, and it is likely that among the 26 wallets you should hand out there aren’t many left.
Another obstacle could be the European Parliament, whose members could question the lack of balance between men and women when they vote on the investiture of the Commission.
ADVERTISINGDespite Von der Leyen’s promise of diversity, Women could end up representing only seven of the 27 members of the Commission.
Lithuania – like all other EU Member States – ignored Von der Leyen’s request to propose male and female names for the position of Commissioner, which Kubilius attributes to the complexity of internal procedures.
“For us, even proposing a candidate is quite a challenge.“he said. “Nominating two candidates… would perhaps be an almost unattainable result.”
She hopes MEPs will look beyond gender and focus on competition, although she acknowledges the outcome is uncertain. “Gender balance is very important, but also experience, track record,” she said. “What kind of decision will be made?” he asked about the hearings and vote that will likely take place in the fall. “You know, democracy is democracy, you can never predict what the outcome will be.”
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